Team Incubator and accelerator for female entrepreneurs and gender-diverse teams

Meet the Team

Kirsten Mangers

CEO & Mother Hen

Inc. 500, Red Herring Technology 100, TechAmerica, and Deloitte’s Fast 50 have recognized Kirsten’s companies. Kirsten was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009 and named Female Technology Leader of the Year by TechAmerica, and American Women in Technology. Kirsten serves as Chairman of the Board for the Alzheimer’s Association; additionally, she is on the Board of Chapman University’s School for Entre- preneurship and Tech Coast Venture Network.

Margot Shapiro

Managing Director

Margot began her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs & Co., moved on to a private equity firm with over 30 portfolio companies totaling $6 billion in revenues, and then became a founding member of Kaplan Interactive, owned by The Washington Post. Margot served on the Board of Advisors of U of M’s Wolverine Venture Fund, is on the Executive Committee at Tech Coast Angels, and is a Partner in LMN Ventures. She holds a BS and MS from Stanford, and an MBA from Harvard.

Mary Huber

Partner, Sales & Business Development

Mary is a proven senior executive with extensive B2B and B2C sales management experience, including experience in product development, product placement, marketing strategy, and sales channel management. At Chicklabs, Mary works closely with entrepreneurs to launch new products in the marketplace, while emphasizing product integrity and customer support. Her expert guidance comes from leadership roles at Knoll International, Arcadia Contract/Encore, and Herman Miller. Mary attended the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Craig Torrence

Partner, Finance

Craig is a senior executive with over 25 years of experience in banking and corporate finance. He has held lead roles in completing over $700 million of complex financial transactions. Craig has worked for some of the world’s largest financial institutions, has held senior financial positions in both public and private companies, and has also participated in start-up ventures. At Chicklabs, Craig acts as a CFO, designs financial pro-formas, helps client companies prepare for investor meetings. Craig has a BS in business from Indiana University.

Matt Weiss

Partner, Strategy & Business Development

Matt is an Operations/Business Development Executive with 20 years of experience in developing and implementing strategy, driving revenue growth and creating positive organizational morale. Having been a very early part of two successfully acquired start-ups (acquisitions by McAfee and Hewlett Packard) Matt is practiced at managing all levels of an organization. With successful turnaround experience he is proficient with building and/or reorganizing teams. Matt has conducted business in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia and holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business from CSUSM.